"The sound of handcuffs and shackles in the feet of prisoners in Tihar Jail in the 1970s-80s still resonate in my ears. Tihar is not just a prison, it is an elusive and enchanted world in itself. Within its high horror four-walls, I saw the 'mighty' ones falling to the ground, heard the pain in my ears. The criminals spend their life in fearful confinement in the jail. But, I was not a criminal, I was a worker, a government employee.
"Tihar is a jail and will always remain a prison. May be some one changes its name someday. Every moment I spent there will remain etched in my memory. Criminals and employees will come and go into the Tihar. The black warrant is issued only once to the criminal who is to be hanged till death. This whole thing gives the real feel of the Tihar, sends shivers down. I spent 35 years in this jail, not as a criminal but as a government employee."
This is not a breathtaking screenplay of any Hollywood or Bollywood film. But, is a confession of a person who worked in this jail. Sunil Gupta has written about the inside world of the dreaded Tihar jail. The 'Black Warrant' is the name of the book, which for the first time talks about the insides of the Tihar jail.
According to the rule book, Black Warrant (also called death warrant) is an execution warrant that authorises the execution of a condemned person.
This will be the first time in the history of Tihar or any jail in the country which will give an inside picture of a jail. Black Warrant will tell the heartbreaking stories of all the criminals who have been hanged.
Sunil Gupta used to work as a law officer in the Indian Railways sometime in the late 1970s. He was later posted as Deputy Superintendent of the Tihar Jail in 1981 and retired as a law officer of Tihar Jail in 2016.
The book is a collaboration between Sunil Gupta and writer Sunetra Chaudhary who is the co author of the book published by Roli Books Publication. The launch of the book is on November 26.
It is only through this book that people will come to know how, why and when the weight of the shackles and handcuffs lying in the feet of the inmates was lightened. How a domineering IPS woman officer had freed prisoners from the practices that had made Tihar a hell like Jail.
The Black Warrant itself will reveal -- why and how the Tihar jail became the Janata Party's birthplace in 1977?
The Black Warrant also talks about the threat by mafia don Chhota Shakeel to a jail officer after Chotta Rajan was brought in the jail. The threat said: "You will not be able to keep Chhota Rajan alive for more than two-three days." Soon after the threat, the jail officer had complained to the Director General, who, very shockingly, removed the security from the jail officer's home and also took away his official weapon.
Black Warrant also gives details about one of the world's most notorious criminal, Charles Sobhraj?
All this and much more is recorded in this Black Warrant. During 35 years of Tihar jail job, Sunil Gupta's book will also reveal how the writer saw eight criminals being sent to the gallows.
The book has a hundred true stories which will give an insight into the Tihar jail.
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